Mailbox Monday - January 27th

Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog. Head over and check out other books received during the last week. 


Happy Monday!

It's been hot and muggy here and last week we finally received some much needed rain. Not really enough to fill the dam or remove water restrictions but enough to fill our two water tanks and turn our lawn from looking like straw to a lush green. We still need much more rain but now our tanks are full we can keep the plants and grass alive.

Last week I attended The Wiggles reunion show for bushfire relief. There was originally only going to be one Saturday night show with the old Wiggles (Anthony, Greg, Jeff & Murray) coming together for an 18+ show to raise money. The tickets sold out in minutes and I was lucky enough to get some for my friends and I. There was such an uproar from people that didn't get a ticket they opened a Friday night show. Greg suffered a cardiac arrest during the Friday night show, was resuscitated, and rushed to hospital. 
The Saturday night show went ahead at Greg's insistence and he was there in our thoughts the whole night. I attended my first Wiggles concert in 1993 with my 3rd & 4th sons and my last in 2004 with my youngest daughter so it was such a nostalgic trip to see them perform again. (and no, my children wouldn't come with me.) 🙂

 Jeff, Anthony and Murray

 Simon filling in for Greg

Emma, Simon, Paul and John all wearing the yellow shirt.

Happy Australia Day

 

Yesterday was Australia Day. We celebrated with a family picnic in the park. The weather was really hot and there was only one other family there braving the heat. Dot and Ditto seemed to be having a wonderful time running around on the play equipment but by 11:30am we decided to go home and jump in the pool.

Books received over the last two weeks:

From the publisher:

Euphoria Kids by Allson Evans

Ever since the witch cursed Babs, she turns invisible sometimes. She has her mum and her dog, but teachers and classmates barely notice her. Then, one day, Iris can see her. And Iris likes what they see. Babs is made of fire.

Iris grew from a seed in the ground. They have friends, but not human ones. Not until they meet Babs. The two of them have a lot in common: they speak to dryads and faeries, and they're connected to the magic that's all around them.

There's a new boy at school, a boy who's like them and who hasn't found his real name. Soon the three of them are hanging out and trying spellwork together. Magic can be dangerous, though. Witches and fae can be cruel. Something is happening in the other realm, and despite being warned to stay away, the three friends have to figure out how to deal with it on their own terms. 

 House on Endless Waters by Emuna Elon

At the behest of his agent, renowned author Yoel Blum reluctantly agrees to visit his birthplace of Amsterdam to meet with his Dutch publisher, despite promising his late mother that he would never return to that city. While touring the Jewish Museum with his wife, Yoel stumbles upon a looping reel of photos offering a glimpse of pre-war Dutch Jewish life, and is astonished to see the youthful face of his beloved mother staring back at him, posing with her husband, Yoel's older sister Nettie…and an infant he doesn't recognize.

This unsettling discovery launches him into a fervent search for the truth, revealing Amsterdam's dark wartime history and the underground networks which hid Jewish children away from danger-but at a cost. The deeper into the past Yoel digs, the better he understands his mother's silence, and the more urgent the question that has unconsciously haunted him for a lifetime-Who am I?-becomes.

From the author:

  Salvation Station by Kathryn Schleich

When committed female police captain Linda Turner, haunted by the murders of two small children and their pastor father, becomes obsessed with solving the harrowing case, she finds herself wrapped up in a mission to expose a fraudulent religious organization and an unrepentant killer.

Despite her years of experience investigating homicides for the force, Captain Linda Turner is haunted by the murders of the Hansen family. The two small children, clothed in tattered Disney pajamas, were buried with their father, a pastor, in the flower garden behind a church parsonage in Lincoln, Nebraska. But Mrs. Hansen is nowhere to be found—and neither is the killer.

In St. Louis, the televangelist Ray Williams is about to lose his show—until one of his regular attendees approaches him with an idea that will help him save it. Despite his initial misgivings, Ray agrees to give it a try. He can’t deny his attraction to this woman, and besides, she’d assured him the plan is just—God gave her the instructions in a dream.

My purchase:

Undara by Annie Seaton

Within the treacherous caves of Undara, a betrayal will test the bonds of friendship and family. A page-turning new eco-adventure for readers who love Di Morrissey.

When entomologist Emlyn Rees arrives at Hidden Valley she wants nothing more than to escape her marriage breakdown by burying herself in the research team's hunt for new species of insects in the depths of the dramatic Undara lava tubes. However, little does she suspect she will be the key to solving a mystery that's more than one hundred years old.

Travis Carlyle is initially resistant to letting some city folks tramp over his cattle station, but soon the researchers' findings and a growing friendship with Emlyn bring opportunities to turn around his struggling farm. With a broken marriage behind him and children to care for, Travis needs to plan for the future and this could be his family's best chance.

But when things start going wrong for the farm and around the dig site, Emlyn and Travis are at a loss as to understand why. Are they cursed with bad luck, or is there a more sinister force at play? Are the tall tales of enigmatic stockman Bluey turning true? As the unseen saboteur grows bolder, Emlyn and Travis are caught in a race against time to save the station ... and their lives. 

What Books did your postman deliver, or you downloaded, this week?

Post a link to your Mailbox Monday or simply list your books in the comments below.